Finding Thankfulness in the Crappy Situations

Thankful.

When I think of the word “thankful,” I immediately think of Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s because I’m starting to be surrounded by pumpkin spice everything. But, thankfulness has been on my mind today.

I realize thankfulness is something that we don’t need a holiday for. We don’t need to save it all up for that one special day a year. We can choose to be thankful everyday…several times a day.And, it is Critical that we do.

If we really think about it, we can find a reason to be thankful in almost everything. Even the crappy stuff.

For example, today I had a ridiculously low tire (psi of 16 when it was supposed to be 50!) My gas gauge also said I had a dangerously low amount of gas-9 miles left until empty! YIKES!

I had just wrapped up a great spin class (yay me-still going strong on that!) I notice the gas gauge AND the low tire pressure lights on my dash and decide I better head to the gas station to take care of both things. I honestly wanted nothing more than a big glass of ice water and a shower since I was so hot and sweaty from spin class. I pull up to the gas station and go to grab my wallet and realize I had left it at home. This meant, I had NO MONEY to buy gas and I would be lucky to make it home with the little amount of gas I had! But, I had no other choice. I pull forward to the air pump (thank God that was free!) As I’m sitting there squatted down filling all 4 tires with air, my thighs were killing me from spin class and I almost couldn’t get back up to standing position they were so tired! Instagram post. I get all 4 tires filled with gas and I head home to grab my wallet. I was in a rush to get showered and cleaned up in time to pick up my Little Ladybug from preschool so that added to the stress of it all. I get showered and make it to the gas station (3 miles until empty!) I get my vehicle filled up with gas and I STILL make it to preschool on time. PFEW!

Let me just say this….can you even count the amount of things that went wrong in that hour? All of that happened in just one hour!!!

I was surprised to find myself staying so calm.

When my mind started drifting towards getting angry, I felt God reminding me of everything that I should be thankful for in that hour rather than focusing on everything that was going wrong.

Here’s what I came up with:

I made it to the gas station for air without blowing a tire and causing a car wreck

I have a nice, reliable vehicle that I can count on to bring me places (when I fill it with gas! ha)

I just finished up a really great workout for which I’m healthy enough to do so

I’m blessed to have such a nice fitness facility at my disposal for free

I have fresh, clean water to drink when I’m so thirsty after a work out-not all places in the world can say the same

I’m filling my tires with FREE air (I’ve seen some places charge for this-I’m lucky I stumbled upon one that was free when I didn’t even have a quarter in the cup holder)

Sometimes, I have to just stop and think “I’m in Hawaii!” It’s a blessing to just BE in such an incredible place…even if I’m in a crappy situation at the moment-it’s still Hawaii and I’m surrounded by palm trees as I’m filling my tire with air

I made it home safely where I was able to enjoy that cup of ice-cold water and could take a nice shower to refresh myself.

I made it back to the gas station and there was NO LINE so I was able to get in and out quickly

I made it to preschool in time to pick up my Little Ladybug

While I’m at it…I’m thankful for HER too 😉

Wow! It’s crazy to me to think how easily I could have let anger and frustration cloud my view and make me miss out on all of those blessings.

If I let the devil have his way, I would’ve spent that hour cussing about how “everything was going wrong” and how it was just a “horrible day now.”

Instead, I kept my focus on the positive and that horrible stuff happening didn’t even put a damper on my day. I went on to pick up Ladybug from preschool, we had lunch together and enjoyed the rest of our day.

How many times do we not choose thankfulness over frustration and anger?

How many blessing have I missed out on in the past because I let the devil control my emotions rather than listen to God telling me it’ll be okay and to focus on the good in the situation instead?

If you’re like me, I know I can be quick to anger at times and it makes me sad to think of those times I chose anger over thankfulness.

There is so much to be thankful for. If I can begin to seek out the good in the ugly situations, perhaps I’ll be better about appreciating the obvious things more often.

Thankfulness leads to a happy heart. A happy heart leads to a happy life.

I don’t know about you. But, I want a happy life AND a happy heart. It starts with thankfulness!

What’s something YOU found to be thankful for today in an ugly situation?

Did you recognize it at the time? Or, did it take reflecting on the situation later on to realize it?

How would’ve it changed the outcome if you had focused on finding the good in the situation first?

19 thoughts on “Finding Thankfulness in the Crappy Situations”

Been there ! lol I know exactly what it’s like to have that kind of a morning and I hope you filled those tires with air not gas (haha) I couldn’t resist lol I think the reason that your positive attitude turned the whole situation into a piece of cake as I like to say. I keep saying I’m going to join a spin class…is it as fun as they say?

Ha! Just writing about it was exhausting! And, then I realized it had all happened in just an hour. I agree that it was staying positive throughout it that kept me from flipping out!
Spin class is so unique I think. It’s definitely something you should try. Go into it with an open mind. What I like about it, is you control your workout. The instructor will guide you with what to do and tel you when to add resistance and when to slow down etc. But, it’s up to YOU how much resistance you use and how fast you go. O

I believe this is my favorite blog post of the ones I have read. I’m newer to your blog so I haven’t read them all. What a wonderful and graceful way to look at what could have been the story of your horrible day. Great that you have the proper attitude!

Awe! Your comment is starting my day off with a smile! Thank you so much!

Thankfulness can be so simple if we get into the habit of it. The past year or so, I’ve really opened my eyes to the world outside of mine…not just America but everywhere. It has really made me appreciate what I have-especially the simple blessings (like fresh water and always having food on the table) I overlooked before. Realizing these things makes it easy to find things to be thankful for!

When I first had my daughter and I was struggling with feeling sleep deprived all the time and becoming a new mom I definitely had to make a point to focus on the positive things in my life! Otherwise, I would of spiraled into a dark place. It is so amazing how a shift in our thinking can completely turn things around. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

That is so very true! I suffered from depression for several years after having my kids and I know that, if I would’ve changed my perspective to being appreciative, it would’ve made a big difference. Thank you for sharing that with me!

Oops…pushed send. But, I was just saying it can be a very hard workout if you push yourself. But, either way, you will sweat and get your heart rate pumping. The average calorie burn for a spin class is 400-600 calories. I finically remembered to wear my Fitbit yesterday and my calorie burn was 424. I was in cardio zone for 42 minutes and fat burn zone for 21 minutes! It will be fun to compare that to my next workout!

I’m thankful for the little chuckle you gave me with your typo, and for the sense of kinship since I’ve Been there, Done that! That must have been quite a trick filling your tires with gas! 😂(Although now that I think about it, if I remember my science correctly, air is a gas! 😃)

But seriously, thanks for a great post on the importance of maintaining an attitude gratitude.